Ciska Veen

The SolidTree project is a transdisciplinary postdoctoral research position focused on how soil management can support healthier soil life and more sustainable production of avenue trees. The project responds to the environmental pressures associated with nursery practices such as fertilizer and pesticide use, and aims to develop practical strategies that reduce impacts on the surrounding environment while maintaining productive tree cultivation. Working within an NWO-funded consortium, you will collaborate with tree growers, public authorities, companies, ecologists, data scientists, and social scientists. Your main role is to design and carry out field experiments on tree nurseries, working directly with growers to test soil-management approaches. You will measure effects on trees and soil life through field and laboratory work, and you will also collaborate with a PhD candidate on more controlled experiments in the NIOO-KNAW experimental garden. The position is based in the Terrestrial Ecology department at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) in Wageningen. The group is described as dynamic and diverse, bringing together researchers, research assistants, and students studying biodiversity and the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. NIOO-KNAW provides extensive experimental facilities and laboratories, and the project also involves close collaboration with researchers at HAS Green Academy, whose work translates plant-soil knowledge into practical applications for improving soil vitality and sustainability. As part of the consortium, you will contribute data, research results, and expertise toward building a decision model to support growers in implementing nature-inclusive soil management. You will also communicate outcomes to stakeholders, present at conferences, and publish in international journals.